Facebook Memories reminds woman of being ‘cuckooed’ by drug dealer

· social media,privacy,digital news

Yesterday, we revealed how Facebook was making people miserable by dredging up their awful memories. Now Metro.co.uk readers have told us the social network’s new nostalgia drive has forced them to recall a heartbreaking past they’d rather forget.

Facebook has just launched Memories, a page which is ‘a single place on Facebook to reflect on the moments you’ve shared with family and friends, including posts and photos, friends you’ve made, and major life events’.

But a 37-year-old autistic woman from the North of Britain, who we have agreed not to name, got in touch to tell us it reminded her of a time when a drug dealer moved into her house and forced her to move out so he could sell speed and cocaine.

This is called cuckooing after the bird which steals nests, rather than building its own.

The unhappy Facebooker said she logged on to use Zuckerberg’s new Memories feature and was devastated to be reminded of a terrible time in her life which left her homeless and scrambling to pick up the pieces.

‘During one month in 2016, I was diagnosed as autistic and my friend died suddenly and unexpectedly,’ she said. ‘Then I was cuckooed out of my long-term rental of ten years by a dealer.

‘I spent 11 months homeless and bidding for council housing before finally getting my accommodation sorted out before I could even begin to process what had happened.

‘The two years between then and now have had some happy times but mostly incredibly difficult things to come to terms with.’

She wants Facebook to turn off the Memories feature so it doesn’t keep on triggering unhappy reminiscences. ‘I do not need reminding of it every day.

In Facebook’s bid to keep its claws in our personal business in a quest for data it brings up old posts and reminds you in the hope you’ll provide new interaction and data.

‘If it was about keeping people happy and in control of their experience there would be a way to turn it off. ‘In fact, it’s based on algorithms that create a dopamine deficit leading users to seek more approval and reaction for the next hit.

‘Delete Facebook campaigns don’t work for you if like me and millions of other users you’re disabled. Like it or not it’s how most people socialise and deleting it causes further isolation.

‘Facebook really needs to look at a way to turn this off or just genuinely admit to the fact that they just don’t want to because there’s just too many clicks to lose.’